Petals
by ohhthatgirl
Summary: The story of how feelings grow from childhoods to teenaged years, and beyond. The story of how a simple crush turns into love. The story of how Uchiha Sasuke fell for Haruno Sakura. "You just pull off the petals of a flower, and you can see if it's love!"


Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish, I still don't own Naruto or the characters in this fic.

I suppose you can think of it as an alternate universe. It's not really specific...

OoOoO

Petals

OoOoO

The meadow was peaceful. Tall grasses stood up high – swaying in the occasional breeze - while brightly colored flowers scattered across the land. On a slightly sloped hill, a lone mass of spiky raven hair was clearly visible.

There was an air of sereneness hovering around the place. That is, until a voice penetrated the silence. "Sasuke-kun!" a small child, around the age of seven, came dashing through the field. She stopped running when she stood next the boy of the same age.

An eager smile graced the child's lips as she sank onto the patch of earth beside her companion. "Guess what I found out from Ino-chan today!?" Her voice was practically dripping with excitement.

"Hn," the boy replied shortly. The bright smile faltered, her shoulders slumping down. Without thinking, the dark-haired child asked, "What did you learn?"

Though he would never admit it aloud, he couldn't stand to see his friend with anything but a smile on her face.

The girl's eyes were almost instantly joyous then. "I was playing with Ino-chan today, and she told me this story! She said that you take a flower, and think really hard about the person you love! Once you think 'bout them, you pull of a petal and say, 'they love me,' and them you take another petal off and say, 'they love me not'! You keep switching 'til you get to the last one, and then you can see if they love you back!

"Also…" an adorable blush spread across her cheeks, "If they do love you back, you have to… _kiss_ them on the _lips_! Um, y-you should try it, if you love a girl, Sasuke-kun…"

"That's really dumb," the boy replied bluntly.

"O-Oh… I, um, I guess it _is_ kind of silly…" The pink flush drained from her face, and her emerald eyed dulled slightly. This didn't go unnoticed by him.

With an inward sigh, he reached for the closest flower. He pulled a simple daisy from the ground. The girl was obviously delighted by his actions.

'Hm… I don't like any of those weird girls that follow me around all the time... I already know that kaa-san loves me… I get this weird feeling in my stomach when Sakura-chan is around me…' A wave of heat rushed to his face at the thought. 'Maybe I love her?'

Hesitantly, the small boy plucked a petal off. 'Sakura loves me…' the blush became more pronounced on his young face. Another petal came off. 'Sakura loves me not…' The corners of his mouth pulled downward to a small frown.

The pattern continued until there was only a single petal remaining. The boy's eyes were widened slightly at the result.

"What is it, Sasuke-kun?" Curiosity was burning in her tone.

The sound of the girl's voice seemed to snap the child out of his daze. He turned his head and glanced at his female companion seated beside him.

"C'mon! Tell me! Does she love you back or not?"

Instantly, the boy stood up, and sprinted away as fast as his legs could take him.

"Hey, w-wait, Sasuke-kun! What's wrong!?" The girl rose and ran in the direction her friend had gone, but he had long disappeared from sight.

'But… I still needed to give him a kiss… He's supposed to love me back! My flower said so! W-What if it lied…?'

A few tears feel from the girl's emerald orbs as she stood alone in the large field, gazing at the spot where her crush had departed from.

OoOoO

_Ten Years Later…_

A tall, dark, and handsome teenaged boy came hurtling across the blooming field, a pink-haired beauty close in pursuit. When he turned to see how far behind she was, the girl pounced on him to – effectively – close the gap. The two teens fell side by side onto the soft earth with a dull "thump."

"Hn, you're still as slow as ever, ne, Sakura?" The boy smirked as his friend pouted cutely beside him.

"Mou, you're mean, Sasuke-kun!" She pushed on his shoulder in a playful manner.

"Aa," was all she got as a response.

A comfortable silence settled onto the pair. The boy, lying on the ground, was deep in thought, while the girl sat close by his side, admiring the wild life.

A small smile tugged onto his thin lips as he remembered how long he had had feelings for the girl. An insignificant crush had blossomed into something so much deeper. How long had he truly loved her?

The teen's eyes watched the clouds floating overhead. One shaped like a daisy caught his attention. Memories flooded through his mind instantly.

_"… You take a flower, and you think really hard about the person you love! Once you think 'bout them, you pull off a petal and say, 'they love me,' and then you take another off and say, 'they love me not'! You keep switching 'til you get to the last one, and then you can see if they love you back!_

_"Also…" an adorable blush spread across her cheeks, "If they _do_ love you back, you have to… _kiss_ them on the _lips_! Um, y-you should try it, if you love a girl, Sasuke-kun…"_

His smile widened a fraction when he realized he had never responded that day. How perfect this opportunity was! 'The only thing is…' his eyes shifted to the girl. A gentle smile was lighting up her soft features, "does she feel the same…?'

"Sakura…" the boy continued to stare out at the blue sky. The girl turned her head to gaze at him.

"What is it, Sasuke-kun?" She spoke in no more than a whisper, as if she didn't dare break the delicate silence.

"Did you know that you can figure out who someone loves by pulling off the petals of any flower?" He improvised a little, as a brilliant plan unfolded in his mind.

The girl's eyes were widened noticeably. Her mouth opened and closed several times, though no words were coming out.

"Let's see who Sakura-_chan_ love, then, shall we?" Gently, the boy selected a daisy, and forced himself not to smirk at the girl's priceless expression. "Sakura-_chan_ loves Naruto," a petal fluttered off. "Sakura-_chan_ loves him not…" His eyes were mocking.

"He-hey! Mou, Sasuke-kun, don't!" An embarrassed tint of crimson stained the girl's face. She tried to grab the flower from his hands, but the boy merely caught her around the waist, and flipped their positions so she was lying on the grass as he straddled her; making sure her arms were securely plastered to her sides.

Her blush intensified ten-fold at this, but the boy seemed completely at ease. He continued with pulling at the flower. When it came to the last petal, he couldn't help but smirk slightly.

"So, Sakura-_chan_ doesn't love Naruto… Hm, then what about… Kiba?" Again, he took a daisy and plucked it down to the stem. "Not dog boy either? Who could it be, then?"

"Sasuke, stop it!" The girl attempted to move from the awkward position, but her struggles were no match for the weight of her companion.

"Let's try Sai. Sakura-_chan_ loves him… Sakura-_chan_ loves him not…"

The odd pattern continued. The boy would list off the names of people, and test it on the flowers. The girl – still blushing furiously – would attempt to escape every time a new name was mentioned.

"Not even the lazy genius. Really, Sakura, some of these guys will be disappointed – heartbroken, I'd say."

"Sasuke-kun, you've tried for everyone we're friends with, now will you _please _let me up?" She pouted like a child.

"No, not quite yet, Sakura-_chan_. There's one last man who needs to be put to the test…" Raising a final flower, the boy locked eyes with his long-time crush.

"Sakura loves me…" Instantly, the girl's body went rigid. She was stuck in those deep obsidian eyes. "Sakura loves me not…" There were faint traces of hurt in his voice, but the girl brushed it off as her imagination.

'No way Sasuke could return my feelings…' But the tender look in his eyes defied the thought. 'Is there…?'

"Sakura loves me not…" a single petal remained. "Sakura loves me…" He murmured as the final petal floated down. There was, perhaps, ten seconds of silence.

"Did you know…? If the person you love loves you back, you get to kiss them… on the_ lips_?"

Never losing eye-contact, the boy leaned forward, and pressed his lips to the girl's. The kiss was short and innocent, but it conveyed so many emotions. _Hope, anticipation, passion, sweetness, care, love, __love__, __**love**__._

Onyx never left emerald.

Sasuke…" the girl whispered, "I-I… I love you…"

"Aa, so I've heard…" A familiar smirk played on the boy's face, but this time, it looked softer. "I've also heard… that I love you, too…" Their lips met again.

The meadow was peaceful. Tall grasses stood high – swaying in the occasional breeze – while brightly colored flowers scattered across the land. On a slightly sloped hill, two lovers were visible, never moving from each other's embrace.

OoOoO

_Well, there you go! My first attempt at a one-shot! (that's been bothering me... shouldn't it be 'an one-shot' but that sounds off. Bah!) I must say, I am rather fond of this. Very fluffy. I was in the mood for some love. Sorry if Sasuke is too out of character for your liking, but it was needed. Okay, I just added the whole "kissing thing" to make it work out. Perhaps it should be part of the tradition. xD _

_Mm, yes. So, the whole staddling part is not supposed to be perverted. It was Jeremy's idea. M'kay? So don't judge me on that! _

_Yes, I should be working in chapter two of Breach, but this idea was keeping me up at night. I must comply. So, hopefully, since I got this done, I'll be able to work on Breach and catch some more Z's._

_Reviews would be lovely._

_xo, Katie._


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